We are all aware of the need for an election process that is flawlessly error-proof. The types of voting allowed at Holliday Park, in congruence with our By-Laws, are by mail ballot, by walk-in ballot, or by proxy. Each year there is an election for Board Members who normally serve two-year terms. In the odd years, like 2009, three Board Members need to be elected or re-elected; in the even-numbered years, four of the seven Board Members need to be elected or re-elected.
Here at Holliday Park, there is a small group of people that is called up every spring to oversee the annual Board Member election. Even before the actual work is considered, the persons who make up the group are newly-chosen or chosen from past experience. Those are invited who have the ability to withstand the time-frame required to participate, and who have the qualities of character that give confidence to the members in casting their vote.
Preparatory meetings help the group members to focus on the task in a unified way, with agreement among the group as to procedure and manner. Ten to fifteen people are able to now accomplish in one day, the election event and the process of counting votes. First of all, the mail ballots are counted. The group then recesses. While staying confined to the Clubhouse, they then attend the Annual Meeting of which the in-person election is a part. During the election itself, each group-member carries out a certain role, for which he/she has prepared. Two challengers, previously instructed as to the parameters of their roles, are allowed. The election itself is usually completed within two hours. All the procedural work is honorably performed with a realization that strict confidentiality is required which prohibits disclosure of anything that occurred during the election or in the counting room. Understanding the role of confidentiality is the most necessary quality for any election worker or challenger.
The whole election process has been examined and discussed by members who have the well-being of Holliday Park at heart. The legally-established By-Laws, which served this well-functioning cooperative for many years, are strictly followed. An accompanying procedure is followed with the same exactitude.
Within a couple hours after the event of the election, the walk-in ballots are counted and totaled along with the previously counted mail ballots. The results are then announced to the membership re-assembled in the Clubhouse, and posted on the Holliday Park marquee.
Each time the work-group accomplishes this task, they experience the satisfaction of a job well-done, and honorably executed. New or remaining Board Members then set out to plan organizational meetings and get on with the business of the Cooperative.
When my oldest grandchild was three years old, I took her for the first time to the Westland Public Library. I was looking for good ways to entertain her on her day with Gram. I didn’t know how entertaining it would be for me as well.
The first attraction was the entryway to the library, going under a kind of roof that gave the aura of entering an under-the-sea space. I watched Jessica look upward, trying to take it all in. Feeling the same pull to enter that she felt, I gently guided her through the experiential Marineland. Soon past the entryway, Jessica discovered a goldfish-bowl-like structure, big enough for her to climb into. What is more, it was her expectation that I, at 65, was to also climb into this created space for tots, which I did, with a little circumspection. Once aloft inside, we could peer out into the adult library world, like the goldfish painted on the transparent wall in front of us. Jessica immediately took on the role of the fish, happy inside its home, “swimming” back and forth.
We visited the library weekly after that, with the first stop always at the “goldfish bowl”. It became a ritual to read a book there. The first one chosen was Eric Carle’s “The Hermit Crab,” a fitting selection for the mock-setting in the water, provided by the library’s imaginative architects. Soon, we were reading this book every week surrounded by all the enhancements of the hermit-crab’s environment. The book became a favorite and seems to be a treasured memento, after Jessica accepted it as a gift from me, full of the memories of many moments spent in the special library.
While this was, for Jessica and me, the most special area of the library, we also find other worthy explorations there. Jessica has always loved puzzles, and she took full advantage of the many variations and frequent re-stocking of new puzzles that she found on each visit. As she grew older, the children’s computer, full of many learning-games, became a major attraction. Then she gravitated to the very social puppet theater on the other end of the library, where she made up toddler-scripts with accidental playmates. Sometimes we would attend the story-time for Toddlers, later for Pre-Schoolers and then for Grade-School children. When the storyteller added an art-project or some dramatic action to the story, it made this an “over-the-top” time for enjoyment together. Jessica is now eight years old and continues to ask for a morning at the library.
Like most children, Jessica has always had a vivid imagination. The Children’s section in this library is second to none in nurturing the desire to explore books and to feed the imagination of children, of all ages, in classic and delightful, creative ways.
I continue to find this a place of refreshment for myself as I take all of my grandchildren there, to occasionally spend a couple of fast-moving hours in Westland’s wonderful world of books!
The geographical area where Holliday Park was built has an interesting history. The land was first inhabited in the early 1800’s by the Pottawatomi and Algonquian Indians. One of the Pottawatomi tribal leaders, Chief Tonquish, was buried in the general area of Holliday Park Townehouses.
In the late 1970’s, one of our members requested the State of Michigan to erect a monument in honor of Chief Tonquish on a section of land just outside the fence line of Holliday Park, paralleling Wayne Road. Today, if you drive north on Wayne Road, you will see a green plague, about 5 feet high, as an historical landmark dedicated to Chief Tonquish.
The next inhabitants in our area were the fur traders, who probably traveled south from Canada. The surrounding Great Lakes, the Detroit River, and the Rouge River provided an opportunity for the early explorers to do a lot of fishing. The wooded areas were rich in hunting. These resources helped the early settlers to survive and flourish.
Later, other pioneers braved the weather and harsh conditions, and settled in the areas that became known as Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Garden City, and Nankin Township — where Holliday Park stands today. Around 1966, the Council Members of Nankin Township petitioned for Nankin Township to be incorporated into a city, named Westland.
Today, Westland is a thriving city of approximately 83,000 citizens, with churches of all denominations, thriving shopping malls, a variety of industries, and many restaurants.
Lucky for us, the builders, Kaufman and Broad, decided to erect a cooperative townehouse complex in Westland. The parcel of land they chose is surrounded by the Rouge River and Nature Preserves on two sides of the housing complex. These surroundings are a perfect setting for our 694-townhouse complex, Holliday Park.
Today, a safe, sound, and secure financial status has led us to complete solvency. There is no longer a mortgage on the property. Holliday Park continues to thrive.
Won’t you consider joining us, in this vibrant and successful cooperative, and experience the beauty and countless opportunities that we offer at Holliday Park, for yourself.
At Holliday Park, the safety of our members is always paramount. One of the ways this is accomplished is through monitoring the vehicles that pass through, or are parked on, Holliday Park grounds daily. The Traffic & Safety Committee oversees that effort through the two Co-chairpersons of the Committee, Nancy and Bud, and the 26 Lot Representative volunteers who keep records of registered vehicles, assist members with parking lot and vehicle questions, and keep a watchful eye out for strange, unregistered vehicles in their parking lots. Member’s visitors, of course, are always welcome, and may park anywhere except in a carport, which is rented by a member.
Nancy and Bud are wonderful generators of the giving spirit that characterizes the Holliday Park community. Nancy has diligently given five years to make this Committee work smoothly. Bud, a veteran Chairperson of this Committee who carries the history of Holliday Park inside his outgoing, helpful demeanor, puts all the information regarding member-automobiles on the computer. He also delivers the Status Quo Newsletter, and is a constant, ready volunteer along with the generous time he gives to urgent family concerns.
Each member, upon taking possession of a unit, receives a vehicle tag which allows that vehicle to be parked anywhere in Holliday Park’s parking lot, without question. Some members own two vehicles, and then, they receive two ownership tags for vehicles. The responsibility of the member is to inform the Lot Representative or the Chairperson if they purchase a new vehicle or change license plates. Members are also asked to inform their Lot Representative if they will be having a visitor-car parked in a certain lot for any length of time that may be longer than usual. All information is kept up-to-date by the Co-Chairpersons, who are conscientious in seeing that their Committee functions in a member-friendly manner. They also help to see that any misunderstandings are cleared up by conferring with members in person or by telephone. Members know that Committee Chairpersons are volunteers who are willing to answer questions and help to resolve problems.
With the cooperation of members in keeping their Lot Representative advised about new vehicles, license plates or visitors, the Holliday Park Traffic & Safety Committee functions smoothly, and provides peace of mind to our members. At Holliday Park, it takes a community of volunteers to live a contented life.
I now live in Florida with my husband and two young babies. Recently, I visited my mother in her Coventry in Holliday Park. It was the dead of January 2009’s winter! (For this, I came from Florida’s balmy 70’s and 80’s!….well, there was a family birthday in Michigan.) My 18-month old says a few words; some of her most deeply felt ones are “Meesheegan….code(cold)!!” We set up a pack-and-play in each bedroom, and we were nice and cozy for the four days we stayed in the frigid-weather zone.
Coming back made me recall moving in as a young, young 11-year-old, dependent on a security teddy bear. Once, soon after moving to Holliday Park, I went on a weekend trip with my mother.When we reached our destination, I found my teddy bear missing. All we could discern is that it had been dropped on the sidewalk on our way to the car, before leaving. We did not know many people in Holliday Park, but we called a Board Member who did a lot of work around the cooperative. He was nice enough to abandon his “less important” work to find my teddy bear, still lying outside abandoned on the sidewalk. This placating gesture and my mother’s bribery (allowing me to have sleepovers whenever I wanted to) helped me to adjust to moving away from the neighborhood of my childhood. My single mother saw the move as a way to get ahead financially, but I had stubbornly resisted her life wisdom.
Another perk, as my mother pointed out, was the swimming pool where I could hang out with my friends in the summer. This, and the persistent, kind acceptance of the community helped me overcome my little “grump” about leaving my geographic circle of friends.
Eventually, I was babysitting regularly for two neighbors at Holliday Park. Being an employed teenager enabled me to buy gas and meet my friends on weekends. This occurred when I was old enough to take the car at night. My Mom was comfortable with my babysitting for people she knew right in the neighborhood at Holliday Park. She may not have been so contented with my taking the car out at night.
In short, I want to say that Holliday Park ended up being a great place to spend my teen years, especially when my friends came around. I know my Mom always felt safe where so many nice people live on what has become her circular mile of friends.
Now, as I raise my own children and think of my Mom, I am grateful that she lives in a community surrounded by friends where she is involved socially and can call on friends easily and often. I know that Holliday Park was a wholesome environment for me (although I was not looking for “wholesome” at the time). Now, I am reassured that my Mom, as she grows older, is in this positive environment, with lots of benefits for a person living alone. And, yes, even teenagers (and children) can be happy at Holliday Park, where relationships with teddy bears are valued and cared for!
I first learned of Holliday Park through a conversation with a friend. She was telling me that someone she knew lived in a co-op and it was not far from where we lived. Since the only Co-op I knew of was one that was really just a very small apartment on the fourth floor of a building in Manhattan where another friend’s daughter lived, I was curious.
These were townhouses, not apartments, my friend explained and there were several different floor plans. Then she told me how low the monthly carrying charges were and that they included the heat. I was really curious now. My family was grown and I was planning to retire in the not too distant future. I didn’t want to have the upkeep of my home, but I also was not thrilled at the prospect of living in an apartment. I felt I was headed for what is referred to as being between a rock and a hard place.
It was arranged that I would be able to see the townhouse her friend was living in that following weekend. Driving into Holliday Park that Sunday, I was immediately impressed by the club house and Olympic size pool that sits near the entrance. The next thing that I noticed was how nice the grounds looked.
We spent about an hour visiting her friend and seeing her unit, and since hers was one of the larger units, I asked her about what the smaller ones were like and if I would be possible to see one? She made a phone call and we walked over to see her neighbor’s unit. This unit was more like what I had in mind, and during this visit, everyone talked about the friendliness of their neighbors.
After leaving, I decided to look around more and realized that I also liked that the cooperative was laid out in an elongated oval. Long walks without ever having to turn around and walk back home, immediately came to mind; and even though I do not play, I checked out the tennis court, and took a drive through part of the nature preserve that runs along two sides of Holliday Park.
I spent the next week thinking about all the advantages of living there, and was unable to find any disadvantages. It would fit my budget, free me from property maintenance, eliminate my children’s concern about how I was managing after I retired. Plus, it would offer me social activities, travel opportunities, and a pool to enjoy along with my grandchildren and friends.
I started looking at the amenities in the area and realized that there were more shops and restaurants within a five mile radius of Holliday Park, than there were within a ten mile radius of my current home. There was a major shopping mall, two big box appliance stores, several drugstores, several grocery stores, two home improvement centers , a university, a community college, a large hospital, numerous doctor’s and dentist’s offices, a post office, and numerous other businesses.
The next time I returned to Holliday Park, it was to turn in my application.
One of the best-kept secrets is the existence of a housing complex — Holliday Park — that is nestled along the Nature Preserve and Rouge River at the northern end of Westland, Michigan. Holliday Park is a #1 place to live. The complex is well managed, and is financially sound – even in these tough economic times; and can also brag of having well-kept grounds and property.
Holliday Park went through many growing pains before it matured to the wonderful housing cooperative it is today. Let’s take a look backwards for a minute.
The Kaufman and Broad Contractors built Holliday Park in nine sections, over a period of 4 years. The original plan was to build about 400 units, along with a swimming pool, tennis courts, a fancy Clubhouse with a twenty-foot awning over the front entrance, and a 9-hole golf course on the north side of the property. The townehouses started to sell much faster than anticipated, so Kaufman and Broad decided to build approximately 300 more units where the golf course had been originally planned.
Because of the change in plans, and because the clubhouse burned during a fire, the builders changed the original name for the complex from Brandywine/Three Fountains Country Club to Holliday Park Townehouses.
As the construction of the units advanced, the builders hired a Management Firm to be the governing Board for the housing complex. After a few years, Holliday Park members realized that they could do the work required of a corporate board, with the help of specific committees and still be able to give personal or individual attention to our Cooperative. Bravely, they put together a plan to achieve the success of someday being mortgage free and self-sustaining at a savings of millions of dollars, over the next 30 plus years. The volunteers are the heart of every aspect of co-op community life. They created a 7 member Board of Directors chosen by a majority of the members by vote. They decided to hire an in-house Property Manager to oversee the infrastructure, exterior and grounds. It was an exciting and challenging time for members and not every experience was a success, as there was a great deal to learn.
Our first experience with self-management was a disappointment. An ad hoc Finance Committee discovered that the Co-op was in violation of our Mortgage Agreement by not paying into the Mandatory Reserves.
A new Board of Directors, with a new, very financially qualified Treasurer, took over. From that day on, all good things started to happen … an upturn which has continued to this day. A new Property Manger and Maintenance Supervisor were hired; a variety of committees were established; policies were revised and enforced; and long-awaited improvements were made to the interior and exterior of the property.
The most important item of business for the Board was to pay off our indebtedness to the Mandatory Reserves. After that, the Board worked on Budgets, and stuck to them. The slogan was: “Let’s control the controllable, and accept the uncontrollable only.”
Some factors that contributed to the many successful years that followed to the present time, were:
1. The Board remained the same for many years. Consistency in Board Members helped.
2. Board Members had a similar philosophy when it came to managing the Co-op’s money.
3. The Board Members believed strongly in enforcing policy. Adhering to policy was, and still is, a pre-requisite to promoting peaceful co-existence among the membership.
4. The Residents have always volunteered to Chair Committees, Create a Social Environment, Uphold the Policies and Procedures of the corporation, and keep the needs of the community met, without personal agenda, and by exercising diplomacy while working as a team.
5. Being Frugal, practical and focused with a knowledge of the Co-ops history, a reverence for the policies and procedures upon which the co-op thrives and a discerning eye towards future challenges and projects that will sustain the community for many decades to come.
Holliday Park can be very proud of its growth and maturity. Today, Holliday Park is financially solvent, has no mortgage and is a very successful housing Cooperative, one of the biggest and best in the entire State of Michigan.
This morning I looked out and saw a white powdery substance covering our community. I wish I could say it was a surprise, but since it was coming down when I went to bed, there was no reason not to suspect that it would still be there in the morning. Now, you ask, why someone would write about snow covering Southern Michigan? After all, this is the “Winter Wonderland”, the frosty state of Michigan. Well, this blog is not about winter in Michigan. It is, rather, about winter in Holliday Park.
My wife and I have had the honor of living in 2 different areas of Holliday Park. For the first 7 ½ years, we were privileged to live in parking lot 20. For most of that time both my wife and I worked. Each time it snowed, while we were at work. We were very pleasantly surprised to come home and find our sidewalks cleared up to our front door. I thought we had the best neighbors that we could ever experience. We became quite close to most of our neighbors, and were proud to call them friends.
Recently, my wife and I were offered the opportunity to move to a larger unit, but in a completely different part of Holliday Park. We accepted the opportunity, and moved to parking lot 7. It was mid-October, and we were afraid that we would not have much of a chance to meet our new neighbors before winter reared its daunting head. As has happened numerous times in my life, I was wrong. It seems that in Holliday Park, it does not matter how well you are acquainted; they are still always there to help you out.
My wife and I have always prided ourselves in being good neighbors, but here, it seems that everyone has the same pride. I was just getting my boots on to remove myself from my recliner, and go outside and do the walks. Too late — one of my neighbors was already out there cleaning my walk. He was cleaning mine before he had even done his own.
When my wife and I decided to move into Holliday Park, we both thought it would simply be an inexpensive place to live. We were definitely correct about being inexpensive. We pay total here what our taxes and insurance were in our home. But, an unexpected benefit about living here has been our neighbors, and everyone we have met here at Holliday Park. Hopefully, we and everyone else that lives here at Holliday Park will continue being good neighbors to each other. Thanks to all for being a good neighbor to each other.
Today is just a taste of the coming winter, and I am sure most of us are tired of it already. Last night we had the cold temperatures for the first time since spring of this year; and just had a half inch of snowfall. Most of us out and about going to work, taking the children to school and running earnad, but just walking outside, with the 25 mile per hour winds, is a bit challenging today. Luckily, when there is measurable to appreciable amount s of snow our maintenance department does not stay indoors. Our parking lots are cleared 2 or 3 times, as well as our sidewalks. The Maintenance Crew are even forced to come in early on snow event days, work well past normal stop time, and come in for a full day on Saturday if the snowfall continues to pile up . THANK YOU TO ALL, NEIGHBORS AND MAINTENANCE CREW FOR YOUR HARD WORK!
It is important that as happy residents of Holliday Park we must never forget that the quality of life in this place is one of our greatest assets. It is truly a financial blessing as well as a gift of community, if you really access your living conditions and all the friends, activities and amenities that Holliday Park provides for you and your family.
Recently a new member to our cooperative was asked how she likes living here. She responded by saying, “It’s everything I wished for … And I wished for a very long time.” This lady became an immediate volunteer on Night Patrol and as a bin-worker for the Grounds Committee. She is not only grateful to be here, but she fully understands that giving of her time, as so many others do, is the way to continue and insure the future of this well run, well kept, and mortgage- free cooperative.
Volunteers or co-operators at Holliday Park can be credited with making large contributions to the financial health of the community by keeping costs down. In their interactions with other residents, volunteers are also the creators of community bonds and social interaction. You do not ever have to feel alone in this place. When you volunteer, you get involved and bond with others in expansive activities that promote the peace and tranquility which are priceless for us all.
Having lived here for a short time or for years, members come to know that the success of the community continues to grow and thrive when each of us, intentionally, promotes respectfulness, caring and sharing. It is true that each of us is responsible for his or her own happiness; however we create it, by showing regard for others and for the welfare and future of this place that we affectionately call our home.
There are within this circle of 694 units, long-term volunteers who instruct, inspire, and motivate; they do deserve our special honor and gratitude although they do not seek it. For all of those who serve the greater good of Holliday Park and bring their hard work ethic, time, experience, creativity, money-saving solutions, bean-counting and so much more to this cooperative, here is a poem of thanks for all that you give, and all that you bring to each of us:
ODE TO VOLUNTEERS
Many will be shocked to find
When the Day of Judgment nears
That there’s a special place in Heaven
Set aside for volunteers.
Furnished with big comfy chairs
Satin couches and footstools
Where there’s no committee chairperson
No policies or rules.
No eager group that needs your help,
No bazaar and no bake sale,
There will be nothing there to staple,
Not one thing to mail.
Telephone lists will be outlawed,
But a finger-snap will bring
Cool drinks and gourmet dinners,
And rare treats fit for a Queen or King.
You ask, who’ll serve these privileged few,
And work for all they’re worth?
Why, all those who reaped the benefits,
but not once volunteered on earth.
Author Unknown (Poem Reprinted from SQ 1994)
